The Mazda3 is getting up there in the years…at eight years old, I can’t say I have had many issues with it…other than this weird thing going on with the rear brakes mucking up a lot faster than the front brakes.
But those golden years are about over…I had to replace the wheel bearings, a strut (well, a pair when you think about it) and some rotors in the front for a cool $1,900.
It can’t be avoided…with time any car is going to break down (except for the Parisienne which has been known to reach 1M kilometers. That is not a typo!) and it’s due time to put some money into it.
I have to figure out what my price point of putting money into the car will be. I don’t think I mind putting $1,000 a year into it. But $2,000? Hmm…that’s getting a little crazy considering the Mazda3 probably isn’t worth $4,000.
I suppose a good rule of thumb would be “If the expenses are larger than car payments throughout a year, then ditch it.” If that’s a good rule, that would mean $175×26 = $4,550 (car payments per year based on my previous payments). So I guess $2,000 isn’t that bad to pay per year for a car.
Either way, I’m hoping to get ten years out of the Mazda3 and when June 2014 rolls around and I still have the car, I will be a happy camper and it will be time to move onto the new one.
Update: A shout out to Loiselle Garage in Embrun! They serviced my rear brakes at no charge and were super helpful while fixing the car. Two thumbs up.